Ranma, Wake Up
by TheManicBunnyRabbit
Summary: Ranma waved a hand to silence his panicky mother. “So what’s up Doc?” he asked forcing calmness into his voice.


PLEASE READ: The lullaby lyrics I borrowed. I wrote this late at night and haven't edited it or had the time to look over it. I just felt like posting something. I hope you enjoy and hope you'll read this over telling me what I should change, and/or if I should scrap this story. I could really use a pre-reader and if your interested let me know. I write to improve my skills, so any advice or comments will be welcomed. I also often change the tense of the story from past to present and back again quite a lot... sorry 'bout that. Anyway... have fun reading...

* * *

  
The room was so very white, a place of business. A company dedicated to putting people back together again after they fall apart. Ranma leaned back in the hard plastic seat, his mother sitting next to him. The Big black bulky headphones covering and blasting his ear with loud music to cover up the sound of old people waiting to die. The sounds of young people with broken bones and severe lacerations. The MRI test and such had been finished only a short while ago, now he waited eagerly for the results.

Ranma saw the young doctor enter the waiting room, hadn't Tofu been his name?

The pigtailed boy pulled the headphones away to listen.

"—tome... Mr. Saotome, I'm afraid I have no good news." The doctor stated consolingly with pity in his resonating voice that exuded optimism, which seemed so very out of place here .

From the corner of his eye he saw his mother go into full out panic. The characteristic hand to her mouth, stiffening of her back, and wild, panicked look contorting her rich brown eyes. Suddenly Ranma was five years old again, having just fallen from the swing-set at the park, during early evening. He'd landed on his back, the wind knocked from his lungs by the shock.

One arm twisted behind his back, he'd fractured his wrist and had to wear a cast for several weeks. But he could still remember the look in mom's eyes, the way she seemed to freeze up and—

Ranma waved a hand to silence his panicky mother. "So what's up Doc.?" he asked forcing calmness into his voice.

"Your dying..." Tofu said in all seriousness.

"Whats wrong with my Son?! There's something you can do to save him, right Doctor?!" Mrs. Saotome demanded as Ranma was startled into silence.

"I'm sorry... your Son has a brain tumor located beneath the main artery, in all my experience I've never seen this happen before. We could attempt surgery but It'd certainly kill him..."

* * *

Ranma tossed and turned in bed, his bedroom completely dark, and too many thoughts screaming in his head. There was a cancer in his head, poisoning his thoughts. Wouldn't it just be so much easier to end it all tonight? Mom hadn't left her room since they got home. She just sat on her bed with the door locked and cried. She hadn't been like this since father had disappeared. After he'd been gone for decade they'd finally had him presumed dead, the empty grave sat at the bottom of a great hill. The grass and flowers meticulously kept, so beautiful and lively in such a dead place. It was as if Nature was trying to compensate, for the lives she had stolen away, out of a guilty conscience. Maybe he'd be buried there too? Next to his fathers empty grave, where he'd lie forgotten for all the years to come. Wouldn't it just be so much easier to get it all over with now? He had less than a year, that's what the stupid doctor had said.  
Ranma threw the covers off himself with furious passion. The room was small and it took little time to cross the six foot distance to the light switch on the wall. He flicked on the lights that filled the room with artificial day. The digital clock that ticked away his life in angry red numbers proclaimed the time to be 3:12 am. The rooms walls were empty, except for the wooden shelf against the sky-blue paint. The ceiling fan spun slowly, sending down a faint breeze. His sock covered feet cooled by the grey carpet, he looked from the shelf to large wooden desk as if for the last time. Smiled at the office style chair, and black lamp. The school books that held his unfinished homework lay open on the desks wooden surface. There was still so much to do, but... now it was all pointless wasn't it? What had he wanted to be again? A psychiatrist? It seemed like a lifetime ago. Ranma opened the solid wood door, switching the light off behind him. A sliver of light illuminated the hallway from the bottom of his mothers bedroom door. As he walked past the closed door he could hear muffled sobbing and unintelligible mutters. He felt incredibly guilty all of the sudden and hurried on down the stairs.

* * *

Nodoka Saotome stared down at the photographs spread across her bed. One caught her eye of a four year old Ranma and his Father standing across from each other in the back yard, both grinning from ear to ear. They had been just about to begin their very first sparing match in that photograph. There was so much he could have taught Ranma, Nodoka thought wistfully. But now, all she could do was pray to any greater being that would listen, and try to ignore the pain inside her. Not only was she a widower, but soon she'd be all alone. Nodoka sighed a shuddering breath. "Please... somebody... save my Ranma... don't take my baby away." She knew she should be comforting her child, but could not let him see her like this. She just needed time to regain her strength and composure. Everything was just so surreal... she had trouble grasping the fragile truth that persistently invaded her thoughts.  
It was like a slow moving train wreck, impossible to ignore, but so hard to comprehend.She lifted the black and white photo of her cradling Ranma. Her dear husband had taking this picture the day they came home from the hospital. Ranma wouldn't stop crying, she'd had to sing to him the same lullaby over and over again. They had been, for that one moment in time a complete, and happy family. The tears dripped warm and heavy, splattering across her newborn babies crying face. She watched the salty tears flow across the picture, and cradled the image to her chest as if holding her child once more.

_ Sleep my child and peace attend thee,_

_All through the night_

_Guardian angels God will send thee,_

_All through the night_

_Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,_

_Hill and dale in slumber sleeping_

_I my loved ones' watch am keeping,_

_All through the night_

_ Angels watching, e'er around thee,_

_All through the night_

_Midnight slumber close surround thee,_

_All through the night_

_Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,_

_Hill and dale in slumber sleeping_

_I my loved ones' watch am keeping,_

_All through the night  
  
_

* * *

Ranma heard an unfamiliar voice crying out and he walked fearlessly through the night. The cut off shriek and sound of flesh striking flesh. All he could do was grit his teeth as the darkened city loomed in all its entirety, giants standing against the skyline. The stars were obscured by the million city lights, all shining like a field of fireflies. Ranma couldn't help but admire the breath taking beauty of it all. The screams echoed in this concrete valley, several drunken men on the sidewalk in front of Ranma stumbled obliviously, on their way home. Even from this far back Ranma could smell the strong whiskey on their breath. One man, the bald one, surprisingly wore a dirty white martial arts Gi, hanging loosely over his large frame, the man he supported on his shoulder wore a similar Gi, only this one was a comforting dark brown. Ranma turned right at the end of the street, following the drunk men, he knew this city like the back of his hand, but it was so late out tonight. The street gangs hung around here, mugging the drunks and raping the whores. That's just the way it was, beneath the beauty of night the scum always came out to play. The police didn't patrol this area nearly enough, but why should they? Ranma had taking the train to slum town for a reason after all. He needed something so forcefully intense that he'd forget all about the cancerous tumor in his head. Besides there was a sense out here that anyone could die at any moment, which made his own impending demise seem so beautifully insignificant.

His feet scraped against the concrete and his shoulders slumped. He crossed his arms for warmth, muttering to himself about wishing he'd worn a long sleeve shirt, or maybe the sweater mom hand giving him last Christmas. Ranma stumbled, and feel to the paved sidewalk with a loud 'thud'. The two drunk men turned to stare at him a moment before carrying on their oblivious way. Ranma turned to see what he'd tripped over. He saw a leg sticking out of the alley, The nearby street lamp illuminated the dark green material of a pant leg attached to a black boot. Ranma paused, 'probably just a drunk, or some homeless person...' he thought and was about to carry on his way when he heard "Ranma... is that you?" The pigtailed boy turned back to the leg, and his gaze followed up to the unmoving figure of a boy about his own age. A boy shrouded in darkness, but even in the dim light the boys obvious injuries were easy to see.

"Do I know you?" Ranma asked casually.

"Its me... Ryouga..., Ranma... your alive... we thought... you died? You have to... save Akane..."

Ranma breathed a long sigh, his shoulders slumping even further. "Akane? Who's Akane? You must be drunk... Ryouga was it? Do I know you from school?" he tried to reason.

The strange boy groaned and forced his way into a sitting position. "Don't you remember?" he whispered in quiet horror. "Happosai released that fucking demon of his... It's got Akane and Kasumi, we've gotta stop it" Ranma could taste the urgency in his voice, and smell the blood that was flowing down the boys face from a large head wound.

Ranma looked around, seeing if there was anybody else in sight, and found that there wasn't. How unusual tonight had become. He turned back to Ryouga, saw the panic in his eyes.  
"Don't worry Pal..." he said soothingly "we'll figure this out..."

He saw the hopeful look in Ryouga's rich brown eyes "I knew... I could trust you... to get us out of this" Ryouga said, then gave a strained laughed "after all... Saotome Ranma, never loses."

Ranma watched as Ryouga's eyes began to glaze over and was filled with a sudden intense concern. He stood motionless, his mind in turmoil. "Akane... Kasumi.... a demon and... thought I was dead?" he mumbled. Ranma took one step, then another into the dark alley. The smells of rotting trash, and urine assaulted him. There were too many bars around here... Ranma wondered how he'd every be able to lift Ryouga. It didn't look like he'd be getting up on his own anytime soon. He just laid there on the ground, eyes glazed and muttering "sorry" over and over again.

* * *

Happosai looked around. Everyone was there, it looked like his improvised Happo Extra-dimensional Warp had worked. They stood in the Tendou's family room. He turned to do a head count. Nabiki, Soun, Genma... wait where was Ryouga? Happosai rubbed at his eyes, they couldn't have just lost another one, could they have? Images of Ranma, in female form, smeared across the dojo wall like paint was still vivid in his mind. It was just supposed to be a test... how could this have got so out of hand? Maybe he'd used the wrong demon summon scroll... maybe Ranma hadn't been as strong as he'd thought? A loud grumbling came from above them, and Happosai looked up at the ceiling as did everyone else. "They're upstairs" the shriveled old man said in his tired, gravely voice. Everyone turned their attention to him. "What happened to that Ryouga boy?" Genma asked, his voice so cold and emotionless it made Happosai's ears feel cold.

* * *

Ranma looked around, the city kept fading away to the most beautiful black he'd ever seen. So pure and inviting, there was a single pinpoint of light ahead of him. The light seemed to radiate an intense feeling of well being. Ranma hurried his pace, the pigtailed slapping down against his back behind him. He ran faster and faster, his lungs burned and heart hammered in his chest. In the darkness he saw faded people all walking towards the light, and felt that something wasn't quite right. He looked down at Ryouga, saw he wasn't breathing. Ranma stopped running, was he dead too? Was he headed on his way to Limbo at this very moment? Ranma dropped Ryouga on the ground, remembering all the CPR lesson he's taking in the flash of an eye. He ripped open Ryouga's yellow shirt, pushing the golden chain and bluish, green, sapphire pendant out of the way. He traced his fingers down Ryouga's chest, finding the diaphragm and placing his right palm over it. Then keeping his right hand in place, he tilted Ryouga's head to open up the air passage. Checking the pulse he found none. There was so much blood. A large cut ran across Ryouga's forehead, something having cut through the black and yellow bandana. Ranma lowered himself to kneel, placing his lips on the strangers mouth. Breathing he counted in his mind 'one-one, one-two, one-three, one- four' He counted fifteen times. He then straddled Ryouga, pushing down on Ryouga's diaphragm with the heal of his right hand, covered by his left. Again he counted "one-one... one-two...one-three... one-four... one-five" Ryouga choked, coughed and the darkness faded away into the very real city street. Ranma kneeling on his knee's, over Ryouga, looked around, suddenly feeling very cold. Still there was nobody in sight. Ranma turned back to Ryouga, seeing the pendant. The sapphire crackled with an inner light. There... he saw a crack in the gemstones otherwise perfect surface. Ranma reached out touching... and when his finger connected with the gem Ryouga's eyes shot open. "AKANEEE!!!!!" he screamed and everything was enveloped in blue and green. As the world floated away Ranma couldn't help but wonder just what kind of power exactly that bluish green gem had. 


End file.
